Obtaining Victory Over Sin - NetBibleStudy.com

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Victory Over Sin 62Jesus Christ, as fully Man and fully God, experienced all human emotions. Hewept at the grave of Lazarus. As He faced the incredible assignment of bearing the sinof the world, He was traumatized by an excruciating emotional burden. Yet Jesus didnot spend those last hours on earth in self-pity, bemoaning His fate. He handled theexperience constructively, and therefore provides a model for us all. What did He do?1. Christ admitted His feelingsJesus said to His disciples, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death;remain here and keep watch with Me” (Matthew 26:38). He allowed His disciplesto have a glimpse at the unutterable passions that come upon Him that dark,oppressive night. To suppress feelings will not cause them to disappear.Feelings must be dealt with honestly. They cannot be ignored. Needless tosay, Christ’s emotional upheavals did not lead Him to sinful thoughts orbehavior, but even so we must follow Him in honestly acknowledging howwe feel.David, the psalmist, was vulnerably honest. As we read the Psalms, and thewide range of emotions that he felt strikes us. When he was joyful, heshouted praises; when he was depressed, he complained about God’s silenceand apparent indifference to his needs. The psalmist reveals his depression,his joy, and even his anger were admitted. We don’t know how often he toldothers about his woes, but we know he spent much time giving his problemsto God. The first step, then, is to admit the truth about our emotions – andtell God how we feel.2. Christ requested the support of friends.Christ had three groups of disciples: the 70 who went from house to house toproclaim the kingdom, the 12 who were constantly with Him, and then threewithin that circle were given special opportunities. Peter, James and Johnwho had been invited to the Mount of Transfiguration were now asked tohelp their Master bear His intense suffering. Christ did not consider itbeneath His dignity to ask His friends for prayerful intercession andcompanionship in the hour of trial.Corporate intercessory prayer could solve many so-called emotionalproblems. But, unfortunately the Church today is much like the discipleswho found praying more difficult than sleeping. Their spirit was willing, buttheir flesh was weak.3. Christ knew that His emotional suffering would not separate Him from theFather’s love and approvalTheir relationship was not affected by the weight of His anguish. As believerswe need to realize that our acceptance before God is unrelated to ourfeelings. We do not live the Christian life by moods, but by faith. Freedom
Victory Over Sin 63comes to us when we understand that our walk with God is not dependenton how we feel when we get out of bed in the morning.4. Finally, Christ knew that blessing would follow obedienceEmotional peace and calm would come after doing God’s will and not before.The assurance of joy in the future enabled Him to endure the tortures of thepresent. As we pursue victory over the “sin that so easily entangles,” we can fixour “eyes on Jesus who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising theshame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).We must remember that feelings flow from action and not vice versa. We canprove this tomorrow morning. If we fellow our feelings, we probably, will not get out ofbed when the alarm clock rings. To wait for the proper feeling will mean that our daywill begin behind schedule. But if we choose to get up and take a shower, whether wefeel like it or not, we will soon discover that we are feeling pretty good. And by the timewe have finished our breakfast, we will be thinking that life isn’t so bad after all. Properfeelings come because of actions; they do not precede the action itself.Whenever we obey God, our feelings begin to fall in line; we have a sense ofsatisfaction, a sense of self-esteem. To seek the proper feelings first will inevitably leadto despair. Yet, some Christians wait for that magic moment when they will feel likeobeying, feel like committing themselves to God, or feel like praying and reading theBible.We all have tasks we dislike doing. What makes us think that we should waitunto we feel like doing them? Christ did not feel like taking our sin unto Himself anddying on the cross in our place. He suffered more physical pain than most of us cancomprehend, along with an excruciating moral anguish, as the sinless One becameidentified with the sin of the world. Every emotional conflict known to man --- (exceptpersonal guilt) --- convulsed within the body of the Holy Son of God. But He wentahead with it because He “was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians2:8). Why did He do it? Jesus knew that after obedience there is joy! How often we havereversed the order. We think we’ve got to be in the right mood to obey God. But there isno joy until there is obedience.One final world: we must learn to give thanks to God for all things, whetherwe feel like it or not. The focus of our attention must be the truth that is settled inheaven.When we feel anything like depression coming our way, it is good to prepare alist of all the blessings that God has given us in Christ Jesus. Resist all negativeemotional impulses. Begin thanking God for each one – even though we may not feelthankful! We can be grateful mentally, by choosing to be, and tell God so.
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Victory Over Sin 1• Why does temp
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Victory Over Sin 4Does it seem to y
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Victory Over Sin 6Illustrations of
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Victory Over Sin 93. Strength for O
Page 12 and 13: Victory Over Sin 12Do you doubt God
Page 14 and 15: Victory Over Sin 14One needs to be
Page 16 and 17: Victory Over Sin 16Like Adam and Ev
Page 19 and 20: Victory Over Sin 19We must deal wit
Page 21 and 22: Victory Over Sin 21God’s Principl
Page 23 and 24: Victory Over Sin 23accused them bef
Page 25 and 26: Victory Over Sin 252. Think of acti
Page 27 and 28: Victory Over Sin 27pray, except for
Page 29 and 30: Victory Over Sin 29When we are face
Page 31 and 32: Victory Over Sin 31When we come to
Page 33 and 34: Victory Over Sin 332. Relate your p
Page 35 and 36: Victory Over Sin 35The fact that we
Page 37 and 38: Victory Over Sin 37Titus 3:9; “de
Page 39 and 40: Victory Over Sin 39The Bible puts a
Page 41 and 42: Victory Over Sin 41we became tired
Page 43 and 44: Victory Over Sin 43(a) Give thanks
Page 45 and 46: Victory Over Sin 45How Do We Receiv
Page 47 and 48: Victory Over Sin 47God delights whe
Page 49 and 50: Victory Over Sin 49What does it all
Page 51 and 52: Victory Over Sin 51knowledge of God
Page 53 and 54: Victory Over Sin 53Remember, if you
Page 55 and 56: Victory Over Sin 55Jesus, “Then c
Page 57 and 58: Victory Over Sin 57Someone has simp
Page 59 and 60: Victory Over Sin 59The counselor ex
Page 61: Victory Over Sin 61away. The result
Page 65 and 66: Victory Over Sin 65~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Page 67 and 68: Victory Over Sin 67accomplish -- we
Page 69 and 70: Victory Over Sin 69Our goal to lose
Page 71 and 72: Victory Over Sin 71We may be hoveri
Page 73 and 74: Victory Over Sin 73temptations, He
Page 75 and 76: Victory Over Sin 75Believers just s
Page 77 and 78: Victory Over Sin 773. In what ways
Page 79 and 80: Victory Over Sin 79the earth, seeki
Page 81 and 82: Victory Over Sin 81Sometimes Christ
Page 83 and 84: Victory Over Sin 83(a) The belt of
Page 85 and 86: Victory Over Sin 853. Overconfident
Page 87 and 88: Victory Over Sin 87therefore, under
Page 89 and 90: Victory Over Sin 89our guilt by mai
Page 91: Victory Over Sin 91remembering that
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Obtaining Victory Over Sin - NetBibleStudy.com

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